Kültürel unsurları içinde barındıran evlilik törenleri, bir topluluğu tanımada önemli bir yere sahiptir. Evlenme törenleri köy ortamında bir bayram şenliği olarak algılanır. Ulusal yapının oluşmasında birçok değer ve davranışın kazanılması yönüyle evlenme törenleri fonksiyonel etkinlik gösterir. Toplumların tarihi ve ekonomik yapıları yerleşim şekilleri, üretim şekilleri ve gelenekleri kısmen kültürleri evlenme biçimlerini belirlemektedir. Bolu İli Kıbrıscık İlçesi geleneksel kültüründe evlenme adetlerini konu alan bu araştırmada, evlilik törenlerinin öncesinde ve evlilik sürecinde, evlenecek eşi seçme, kız beğenme, kız isteme, nişan, kına gecesi, düğün ve düğün sonrasında yapılan adetler incelenmiştir. Alan araştırmamızda görüşme, soru-anket yöntemiyle kaynak kişilerle görüşülmüş ve konu hakkındaki kaynak kitaplardan yararlanılmıştır. Anadolu'daki ilk Türkmen yerleşmesi ile birlikte Kıbrıscık ilçesine de Türkmen yerleşimi başlamış ve ilçenin sosyal yaşamı, gelenek ve görenekleri ile kültür hayatı da Türkmen kültürü etrafında şekillenmiştir. Yöreye özgü evlenme adetleri günümüzde az da olsa uygulanmakta fakat çoğu unutulmuş durumdadır. Yöre halkı ile yapılan görüşmelerden elde edilen bilgiler eskiden uygulanan evlenme adetlerinin halkın günlük yaşamında kentleşmenin de etkisiyle birlikte yavaş yavaş geleneklerden uzak günümüz düğün anlayışına doğru kaydığını göstermektedir. Bu makalede Bolu İli Kıbrıscık İlçesi geleneksel kültüründe evlenme ilgili uygulamaların sonraki nesillere aktarılması ve böylece Türk kültürüne katkı sağlanması amaçlanmıştır. Evlenme geleneklerinin geçmişten günümüze nasıl değiştiğini gözlemlemek, toplum kültüründe çok önemli bir yere sahip olan evlenme uygulamalarını belgelemek gerekmektedir. Bu düşünce ile unutulmaya yüz tutmuş evlenme gelenekleri ile bir örnek oluşturduğu düşünülen Kıbrıscık yöresinde geçmişten günümüze evlenme gelenekleri makalenin konusu olmuştur. Makalede yörede yaşayan halkın verdiği bilgiler çerçevesinde evlenme adetleri sırasıyla ayrıntılı olarak aktarılmıştır. Çalışma sonunda yöre halkının görülmüştür. teknolojiye ayak uydurarak geleneklerinin değiştiği görülmüştür.

Wedding ceremonies bearing cultural elements inside have a significant place in getting to know a community. Wedding ceremonies are perceived as a holiday feast in the village environment. In the formation of national structure, wedding ceremonies show functional activity in order to gain many values and attitudes. The history and economic structures of the societies define the forms of settlement, forms of production and traditions partly in the form of marriage of cultures. In the current study focusing on the wedding customs in the traditional culture in the town of Kıbrıscık, the city of Bolu, such customs as deciding on a girl, requesting her as a bride, engagement, henna night before and during the wedding ceremonies and the customs after the wedding were investigated. In this study, source people were interviewed through question and questionnaire and source books were used. With the first Turkmen settlement in Anatolia, the Turkmen settlement began to be established in the province of the peninsula, and the social life, traditions and customs of the city, as well as cultural life, were shaped around Turkmen culture. Wedding customs peculiar to the region have been used even though they are in low frequency but most of them are forgotten. The knowledge obtained from the people in the region showed that the wedding customs applied before gradually turned into current modern wedding styles with an effect of urbanization in daily life. The purpose of the current study was to convey the wedding practices in the traditional culture of the town of Kıbrıscık, the city of Bolu to the coming generations and in this way make a contribution to Turkish culture. It is necessary to observe how wedding customs have changed from the past to the current time and document the wedding applications having a very important place in the culture of a community. In this sense, nearly forgotten wedding traditions both in the past and the current time in the region of Kıbrıscık which is thought to be a sample were chosen as the topic of the current study. Within the framework of the knowledge gathered from the people living in the region, wedding customs were given in detail in its known order. At the end of the study, local people changed their traditions by keeping up with the technology. It is necessary to observe how marriage customs changed from the past to the current time, to make the documentation of marriage applications which are of a significant place in social culture. In this sense, marriage traditions that are about to disappear and the marriage traditions in the region of Kıbrısçık which is regarded to be a good example from the past to the present time comprises the subject of the current article. The customs of marriage in the region are being applied very few but most of them are forgotten. The knowledge obtained from the people in the region shows that the marriage customs applied in the past have gradually turned into modern sense of marriage by staying away from the traditions with the effect of urbanization in the life of people living there. It is believed that the subject matter is worth investigating in terms of unearthing these values that are about to disappear and documenting them. The material of the research is made up interview forms, audio recordings used at the interviews made with source persons in the region face to face and the literature with regard to the subject and the region. To what extent the people in the region preserved the marriage traditions from the past to the current time was investigated and the talks recorded were evaluated. In the process of evaluation, the data collected was documented in chronological order. In the current study with the subject of the marriage customs in the traditional culture of the town of Kıbrısçık, the city of Bolu, the customs of asking for the girl’s hand in marriage, engagement, henna night, wedding and other customs made after the marriage that are followed in this process were investigated. Field study methods were used in the study. One to one interviews were made with the source people in the region of the study and their voices were recorded. The literature regarding the subject was review. The recorded information was evaluated and the current study was carried out. Marriage traditions are applied in different types and with different rituals in every region of Anatolia. These differences determine the economic structure of people, their lifestyles, historical process and the type of the marriage customs based on their traditions. The marriage customs of Kıbrısçık people having a Turkmen culture are made in such a chronological order as asking for the girl’s hand in marriage, engagement ceremony, the period of engagement, wedding and veiling. These are given as follows; After deciding on the girl, the family and relatives of the young to get married go to the bride’s house. It is called “dünürlük” (affinity). After a short chatting, the reason of the visit is explained. The visitors say these: “We came here by digging the crocus, in dusty roads, with the order of Allah and the words of the Prophet to ask for the hand of the girl for our son”. Upon these words, the mother of the girl answer: “If it is the fortune, it comes from India or Yemen, what to do if it is not the fortune to the man”, which means asking for permission for a few days. If the answer is positive, two families come together to decide the day of the betrothal. After determining on the betrothal, boy’s side buys the needs of the girl for the engagement. The engagement is announced to the immediate vicinity and they are invited. Everyone goes to the girl’s house together. Everybody there dances in local folkloric songs. The boy and the girl are worn the rings and they are given the gifts. The date of wedding is decided by the family elders. The date of the wedding is announced to those to be invited and given gifts (fabrics for dressing, clothes, socks and trousseau goods etc.) depending on their kinship to the family 15-20 days before. The gifts that are given are called “ağırlık” (load). Weddings start in two different ways. Some traditional weddings start on Monday and lasts for five days while some other traditional weddings start on Friday and are completed in four days. In the first day of the wedding, the alumni are gathered in the son’s house. The goods to be sent to the bride are prepared and loaded on a mule. The girl’s side meets the guests and guides them. During the entertainment, meals are eaten and people chat. When the ceremony starts, Turkish Flag is raised on a post. The young people from the girl’s side try hard to get the flag and the Seimeni (Young people in special costumes) defend it. Besides that, a person appointed as the flag person always carries another flag. The trousseau prepared by the girl is hung on a rope by her friends to show what she has in the chest to the neighbours. The folkloric dances are played in enthusiasm. There is a henna ceremony for the girl in the evening. In the ceremony, the closest friend of the girl rubs the henna in the centre of her both palms and on the tips of her fingers. Then her hands are covered with special gloves and left to dry till the morning. One of these gloves is red and the other one is white. It means for the bride that “We send you with red wedding dress and if you leave the house you go, you should leave there with your white shroud”. One day after the henna, the bride is taken from her house. The women and girls going to take the bride usually wear local costumes. The Seimeni gathering in the groom’s house play different folkloric dances while waiting the those who are going to take the bride. Flag person, the flute player and armed Seimeni walk in the front. The girl’s friends prepare the bride in her house. The bride takes the leave with her friends. The father in law gives the tip to the girls holding the door and takes the bride. In this while, the flute player plays the song of making the bride ride on the horse. After the bride rides the horse, coins are spread from the head of the bride by the father in law. When the bride dismounts from the horse, she kisses the leg of the horse as it makes her smile and brings her to her husband. Horse is sacred in Turkish tradition. It has a fine and delicate soul. The horse of the bride is the best horse around. It is believed that it will not allow the bride to ride on it or drop her if there is a doubt with regard to the chastity of the bride. Later on, she kisses the hands of her father and mother in law. She is given a glass jug full of water in it. She pours the water around. It is believed that the clarity and viscosity of water will be reflected to everything in the new house. The bride kicks the two sides of the fireplace. It is made to show that the new bride is so brave and strong. She pounds a nail on the wall to strengthen her place. The yeast brought from the house of the bride is spread on the fireplace in order to show that the bride will like the house and will not go back to her mother’s house without any reason. The groom is brought to the house after Isha (night prayer) in the mosque. After the praying made, the groomsman in the front and the groom following him kiss the hands of the elderly. They rush into the gate of the house. In this while, his friends hit the groom at his back and break eggs on him as a custom. Kissing the hands of the elderly women, the groom goes to his room. When he enters the room the bride and the groom step on each other’s feet. It is believed that the one who steps the first will be dominant at home. The bridesmaid let the couple do prayer and goes out with the bundle of the groom. The bundle is given to the Seimeni. They eat the nuts in the bundle while chatting. The groom gives a gift to the bride when he unveils her. The next morning called veil morning the bride and the groom get up early. The groom visits the houses of the neighbours and relatives while the bride goes out to kiss the hands of the relatives to give gifts. The gifts that are mostly clothes in the trousseau of the bride are called “gelin dürüsü” (bride’s bundle). She gets tips when she kisses the hands. After the handing out of the gifts in the bundle, the fringe or lovelock known as the symbol of womanhood in Kıbrısçık is cut. The relatives taking the gifts makes local dances in accompany with the local songs. At the end of the ceremony the bride spreads wheat around the heads of those participating in it in order to make the newly established home fertile. In this way the ceremony is completed. Most of these customs are almost forgotten and very few of them are applied. Horses were replaced by vehicles thanks to the opportunities brought about by technology particularly in the custom of taking the bride. There are very few people living together the mother and father in law as in the past. The wedding is made in wedding halls and the bride and groom directly goes to their houses at the end of the ceremony. Researches show that some traditions are still carried on even if it is not as in the past. As in every community, the concept of family has passed through some changes and transformations. Such factors as migration to cities, economic reasons, social values, technology etc. led to these changes. The town of Kıbrısçık in the city of Bolu has been influenced by the reasons mentioned above. Particularly, the migration of the young population from the town because of economic reasons leads to a change in the marriage customs. A great many customs in marriage that were applied in the future are unfortunately forgotten. Despite the lost population in Kıbrısçık, unity and togetherness has not been distorted yet. The people living in the town still try not to stay out of their traditions and customs. In the study, the extent of the change in marriage customs in the region from 1900s to the current time is clearly seen. It is known that the wedding ceremonies that were applied in four or five days are made in two or three days today. The young people are getting married by talking and deciding on their own. The tradition of trousseau in marriages is still being carried on even if it is not applied as in the past. Even though most of the marriage traditions and customs in Kıbrısçık are not applied today, it is of great importance that the solidarity and cooperation show the application of transitional period belonging to the culture today. Besides that, it is clearly seen that local traditions and customs are of social quality but not individual one.